Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' France 2008

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The descriptions in this books are very good and he makes many good recommendations for sites, hotels, and restaurants. However, I think this book left out a lot of wonderful destinations (such as Fontainebleau, Aix-en-Provence, Dijon, etc.) and lacks the detailed maps that can be found in other French guidebooks. What he does put in this book is very good, but he could have added a lot more to it. I was less pleased with this guidebook than I have been with some of Rick Steves' other books.

I haven't seen the 2003 edition (my latest is 2001) but I would be shocked if Steves has cut Dijon out of the book, as it was in previous editions. This is a great starting point for a trip to France, but it's predecessor was a book about the best 2-22 days in France and I think it shows.

A marked problem with the Steves guides is that his guided tours businesses tend to fill up his top-rated hotels in many cities so that guidebook customers cannot get in. I encountered this myself in Bacharach in the Rhineland and in Venice. Frustrating.

That said, he is an excellent writer and the Rick Steves guides, unlike the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide series, do tend to discriminate between the top-flight and the ordinary. Unfortunately the Steves guides also miss things that way. I've never been able to understand why Rothenburg is in the German guide instead of any number of other German cities such as Bamberg or Schwabisch Hall for example, which possess similar ambiance without the touristic hordes. Nor do I necessarily agree with his choices in the Dordogne.

I use the Steves Guides as a starting point, then branch out and do my own research.

I was surprised how little new content there was. I returned the book and took mine from last year (2002) and still discovered all new things in its suggestions. Don't waste the money on the latest when it's not the greatest. 2003 and 2002 are created equal. Whoever decided to put out a new book each year so we'd get rid of the old and get the new one is CRAZY! I understand updates every few years, but there was not enough difference to spend $... on.

I absolutely hate to give a Rick Steve's book a bad review but in this case I am going to have to. I will preface this however that if you have access to a car this book is proably great for you!

AND therein lies the main difficulty with this book. Most independent (and in my case young) travelers that visit Europe do so via rail. Why not? The service is good in most places and absolutely top notch in others (i.e.: Switzerland). It's also affordable and allows you to get to many places at a relatively inexpensive price.

This books, however, seems to ignore the rail traveler and focus instead on the person with a car or the person who wants to go and take a lot of local tours. For example, he'll list places in the Dordogne and then inform you that most of them are only accessible by car. Ditto for Provence. He'll also list cute little hotels and again tell you they are only accessible by car. He even lists a whole bunch of recommended auto routes. In addition, because he leaves out certain places that are easily accessible by train (i.e: Aix) the rail traveler feels left out!

That would be all good and fine if that's what one had come to expect from Rick Steves -- but at least in my case it is not! I have used the Rick Steves books before and I LOVED them! In fact I can HIGHLY recommend "Best of Europe" and "Mona Winks" (believe the title has changed). Those books were great. Serioulsy, Mona Winks made Florence come alive for me. We would read it in every museum we visited. And Best of Europe led me to some of the most fabulous places -- including Gimmelwald. But what I really liked is that those books really felt as though they were meant for a rail traveler.

I've bought Rick Steve's France 2005 but I've also come to the conclusion that it's not for me. If at all possible I will be returning it!

That is not to say however that I won't be taking my Best of Europe or Mona Winks books with me -- I wouldn't leave home without them!

I brought this book with me on a recent trip to Paris, the Loire valley and Brittany. Whenever we could, we used the recommendations for places to go and stay and eat from the book and never came away dissapointed. The book does a great job of getting you to the best sights and avoiding the crowds.

The only bad thing I can say about it is the coverage is not very good. There are many cities that there is no information on making this not a good resource for answering the question "Gee, I wonder what is in this little out of the way town we are driving thru". If you stick to the big sights however, this is not a problem. You can also use this book to determine what the big sights are.

Having used many guidebooks, I think these are the best. Granted, the Rick Steves books are unique in that they are selective in the areas that they describe, but these areas are described well. I've used his France, Italy, and Spain guides. With his books, you feel like Rick is on the trip as your personal tour guide. Most guides (Frommers, Foders, etc.) give you a superficial overview of the whole country. Rick lets it all hang out. He tells what he thinks is a worthwhile stop and what isn't. Most of what "isn't" doesn't make it into the guidebook at all. Thus, I suggest taking another more comprehensive book (Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, etc.) to fill in any gaps should you find yourself in a location Rick doesn't describe. On the whole though, I love his itineraries. Most people traveling to Europe have limited time (1 month or less). There's only so much you can see; why not have someone boil it down and provide a straight forward opinion as to what to see and do? In his books there is easily enough to keep you busy for a month, maybe even two. Beyond the big sites, which he does describe, he spends a lot of time directing you to quaint towns which he feels are the most atmospheric. He lets you know when a particular place is really touristy so you can avoid it in lieu of a more authentic place. In his guides, he directs you to personal experiences such as wine tastings or tours with particular individuals that he introduces on a first name basis. There is a lot of attention paid to saving money. It's not that the suggestions are cheap, rather he tries to help you have the best bang for your buck. His attitude is that travel shouldn't cost you a fortune, although he lets you know if a splurge is really worth it. The real question is whether you are the type of traveler that would like Rick's suggestions. Here is a test. If you can answer "yes" to most of these questions, buy the book, you'll love it. 1)Are you a value seeker? 2)Do you want to venture off the tourist trail? 4)Do you appreciate tidbits on history and art 5)Do you have the stamina to tour a new town/city every 1-3 days? 6)Do you try to avoid tourist traps? 8)Is your idea of fine lodging simple, homey places in good locations, with moderate prices? I would not suggest this book for people who want to spend their vacation walled up in a luxury hotel, venturing out mostly to shop and tour the biggest of sights. Basically if you like Rick's show on PBS, you'll appreciate his guides.

We just returned from France...this book was great. He is on the nose with most things Rick Steve also has audio tours that you can download from Itunes (free). They were really helpful, so that one doesn't get inidated with art in the Lourve and Orsay. The Lourve is undergoing some construction and so some of the direction was off (but really Rick can't predict that)...but if you're able to locate the location using the map, provided by the Lourve, you should be fine, and still use his audio recording. We also went to Lyon and Beaune and his book was helpful for those locations as well. Loved the book, once again Rick delivers.

This is an excellent book if you are traveling in France. It highlights all of the areas you want to see plus gives you valuable insights into the places to eat, shop, sleep, etc. We have used this book for all our travels and it works wonderfully.

WE HAVE USED RICK STEVES IN IRELAND GERMANY AND TAKING HIM WITH US TO ITALY AND FRANCE . WE HAVE STAYED IN PLACES AND EATEN IN RESTURANTS IN HIS BOOK AND HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED! SOME OF THE SITES HE RECOMMENDS IN HIS BOOK WE WILL NEVER FORGET, THANKS RICK,
WE WILL BE FLYING TO FRANCE AS YOU MAKE YOUR SPEECH IN TULSA OR I WOULD BE THERE !

I bought my 1st RS France in 2005 & have used it for 3 trips to France. I purchased the 2009 edition for our next trip. It has more than 200 pages more than the 2005 version, but the weight is the same & the size is actually smaller(for those interested in weight & size for smart travel). There is now a fold out map and an almanac with details of the country & people. Each region also had a grayed tab to make it easier to find. As usual, this version included Rick's wonderful sense of humor & excellent insights into the French psyche to help make your travel most rewarding. It is a must for anyone who wishes to travel in a way to experience real France.